Over 40 movies are slated for 2017, throughout the entire year, that will appeal to fans of these favorite characters and brands: superheroes, classic characters, favorite playthings, all with relevant new content for today’s generations of movie-goers and experience-seeking customers.

The year of 2017 is shaping up to be another substantial year for strong licenses and licensed properties, and brands with multi-generational appeal. There are a number of factors that support this premise. Character licensing is no longer relegated to the merchandising power of toys and games. Strong theatrical releases, live events and multi-tier tentpole events are driving merchandising dollars into apparel, publishing, sports, entertainment theme parks, and even more branded lifestyle categories.

For example, it was no coincidence that Pokémon Go attracted a wide swath of the population across multiple age groups. In 2017, the Pokémon brand celebrates their 20th anniversary. Kids who grew up with Pokemon are now young adults, for whom augmented reality treasure hunts were a positive pat-time for Summer 2016. Kids and parents also joined the foot traffic, as tens of millions of people across the globe hunted for the elusive Pokémon characters. Expect more Pokémon news throughout 2017, in new and exciting formats that will continue to break barriers with technology innovations. Promoting inter-generational play, active outdoor activities and the “Gotta Catch Em All “mentality will continue throughout 2017.

Key Anniversaries of Brands and Movie/TV Characters

Property

Anniversary

Property Owner

In the Night Garden

10

DHX Media

YooHoo & Friends

10

Aurora World/ Mondo TV

Yu-Gi-Oh

15

4K Media

Build A Bear

20

Build-A-Bear

Pokemon

20

The Pokemon Company

TeleTubbies

20

DHX media

Power Rangers

25

Saban

Dragon Ball Z

30

Toie Animation

Care Bears

35

American greetings

Danger Mouse

35

Fremantle

Maya the Bee

40

Studio 100

Star Wars

40

Lucas Ent/ Disney

Thunderbirds

50

ITV Studios

Toie Animation

60

Toie Animation

Mr Potato Head

65

Hasbro

Wonder Woman

75

Marvel/ Disney

Daffy Duck

80

Warner Bros Looney Tunes

Goofy animated character

85

Disney

LEGO

85

Lego

Lincoln Logs

100

Knex

Teddy Bear

115

multiple

Märklin Trains

125

Marklin

Peter Rabbit: Beatrix Potter

150

Sony / Penguin/Beatrix Potter

Other strong cross-generational brands celebrating major milestones include Star Wars 40th anniversary. Their first action figures for boys were launched in 1977, and stores couldn’t get enough merchandise to meet demand, even then. This dual target audience brand (kids and adults) will be strengthened with another new Star Wars movie, Episode VIII in late 2017, and the Rogue One movie (Holiday 2016) will continue to offer new footage and characters with epic stories in late 2016 and spilling over into 2017.

On a softer side, Care Bears will be celebrating its 35th anniversary with a Fall 2017 movie release. TeleTubbies are back, marking a 20 year anniversary with new TV episodes. Their storyline has been updated for today’s kids by updating the television screen on their tummies with touch-screens. Power Rangers continue to appeal to new fans each year, and will be celebrating 25 years of Power Rangers with their own 2017 movie launch. DragonBall Z (30th) and even Dirty Dancing (30th) will continue to tug at Millennial heart strings, with young adults and new parents remembering their childhood favorites.

With this knowledge of upcoming movies and strong anniversaries, store shelves and online channels will continue to appeal to the dual-target market audiences, and offer an inter-generational connection for the young and the young-at-heart.

This LEGO DUPLO Batman Adventure set is designed for young builders 2 – 5 years old. Kids can play with Batman™, Superman™ and Wonder Woman to save the day and create endless adventures with these iconic super-heroes. This set includes an easy-to-build opening bridge, Batman’s Batboat, Wonder Woman’s motorbike, and a cat. These Duplo bricks are over-sized and created to be fun and safe for small hands. As your little builder grows up, they will be able to use Duplos with other Lego sets as they are 100% compatible. Learn more here.

Activision just launched Skylander SuperChargers introducing “vehicles-to-life” that are playable in the real world and virtually come to life in the video game. Now, kids can play in the air, under the sea or on land with NEW Super-Charged characters and vehicles, including race cars, jets, submarines and more! ALL of the existing 300+ characters can be used in this new game and NOW, they all can drive! Get it here.

Kids can capture digital photos or videos of their active lifestyle with the VTech Kidizoom Action Cam. It is designed to be durable for kids as young as 4 years old, with different mounts to attach to their helmets, bikes, skateboards and scooters, plus a case that is waterproof up to 6 feet and will protect from splashes. An affordable way to introduce kids to photography. Parents or older siblings can help them download and share their images. Get it at VTechKids.com!

R.E.V. are super-fast Robotic Enhanced Vehicles from WowWee that are app-enabled remote control battle cars. The starter pack includes 2 cars AND 2 ways to play: One player can play versus the Artificial Intelligence controlled drone car OR battle against their friends. Simply download the free app, connect your device to sync with the vehicle, and start playing right out of the box! These cars are super-fast AND do NOT require a special track or surface to race, or battle on. Play anywhere! Learn more here.

For the Maker in your life, the ArcKit Architectural model building kit is a great hands-on way to teach practical STEM concepts with architectural design. The award-winning model kit comes with re-usable construction pieces like walls, windows, and floors. You can customize your design with printable adhesives like solar panels, wood textures, and terracotta tile. Easily put the set together using quick-click assembly and then re-construct something completely different. The sets include access to the digital materials library and the Sketch Up 3D Warehouse. Developed by a real architect in Ireland, Damien Murtagh, and available exclusively at Barnes & Noble this Holiday Season! Winner of multiple awards such as, The Parents Choice Gold Award, Irish Design 2015 Award, and the Red Dot Design Award! Learn more at ArcKit.com!

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